Forming and filling bags



April 2, 1940' L. 1.. SALFISBERG 2,195,740

FORMING AND FILLING BAGS Original Filed NOV. 21, 1956illllllllllIlI-llllli :un'l'n'nnnnmr mmmumi INVENTOR Lewnlfisherg Aw/ATTORNEY Patented pr. 2, 1940 PATENT OFFICE FORMING AND FILLING BAGSLeroy L. Salflsberg, South Orange, N. J., assignor to Ivers-Lee Company,Newark, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Original application November21, 1936, Serial Divided and this application July 2'1, 1938, Serial No.221,503. In Canada April 6 Claims.

This invention relates in general to the fabrication of bags andspecifically relates to a system and method of manufacturing bags by aheat sealing process, this being a divisional of my Patent No.2,139,039, issued December 6, 1938.

The principal object of the invention comprises providing a simplifiedarrangement for forming and filling commodity containing bags andthelike.

A further object of the invention comprises providing an automaticsystem and method for fabricating plural bags in contiguous chainformation.

A still further object of the invention comprises providing a system forfeeding heat sealable packaging material to form multiple bag formationsin transversely and longitudinally extending rows. v

A still further object comprises providing an automatic bag making,filling and sealing machine for producing individual commoditycontaining bags.

These and other objects will be apparent from the following, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing in which like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the bag fabricatingsystem of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the representation of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view of a bag fabrication in accordance with theinvention, and

Figure 4 is an end view of the fabrication depicted in Figure 3.

The invention contemplates providing a system for feeding strip-likepackaging material, such as transparent regenerated cellulose with athermoplastic coating thereon, through apparatus for forming, fillingand sealing plural bag formations. In accordance with the invention, thestrip of packaging material is folded and sealed to produce parallelrows of bag formations which are subsequently filled with the-desiredcommodity. The parallel rows of filled bags are then-sealed andseparated to produce independent chain bag formations. These chain bagformations may be individually packed for subsequent individualseparation and use of the plastic coating on the upper or outer surfacethereof, although other scalable materials may be used in accordancewith the invention. The packaging material is fed over folding shoe 3and between folding rollers 4 so that opposed portions 5 and 6 of thepackaging material are folded around the upper surface of the shoe 3 sothat the edges thereof meet along a longitudinally extending line in thecenter of the shoe 3.

Rollers 8 and 9 are provided with peripherally disposed transversecrimping bars 8a and 9a. The rollers 8 and 9 are mechanically mountedfor rotation so that these transverse bars coincide with each other incomplementary engagement when rotated through the plane inercepting theaxes of the rollers 8 and 9. The rollers 8 and 9 are provided withelectrical heating elements i and H so that the bars to and 9a areheated to a desired and predetermined temperature. Notching knives 22are provided in the crimping bars 811 and engage with correspondingdepressed portions of the crimping bars 9a.

The rollers 8 and Qare rotated by suitable motor driven driving means todraw the packaging material including the folded over portions and 6 soas to make space-transversed crimped and sealed areas I! extendingacross the packaging structure. It will be noted that during the sealingprocess, notches are provided in the center of the sealing areas I! andin alignment with the longitudinal center line of the packagingconstruction. After leaving the rollers 8 and 9, and after passingbetween stripper idler elements l3, the package structure is folded overa folding shoe ll aligned with the center of the packaging structure,and extending perpendicular to .the plane of the shoe 3. As thepackaging structure is now moved, it is pulled over the shoe I so thatthe folded over portions 5 and 6 pass through rollers I and I6,respectively. In this last folding opera ion, the portions 5 and 6produce, in effect, a plurality of bag pockets 5a, 5b, and 6a, 6b, etcetera. These bags or pockets are formed by virtue of the now verticallyextending sealing'areas l2, the bottom of the bags being formed by thefolding of the packaging material and the upper portion 'of the bagbeing opened to form a mouth. It will be noted that this foldingoperation, in transferring the packaging structure from a horizontalplane to a vertical plane, tends to cause the mouth of the bags soformed to distend. However, a motor driven opener i8 is provided forfurther distending the mouths of these bags.- including elements forinsertion into the upper part of the bag structure in time relation withthe movement of the bags along the shoe I I.

The bag structure passes under filling units 2| and 2| disposed aboveand on opposite sides of the shoe l4. Filling units and 2| are connectedwith a supply of the commodity to be inserted in the bag, such ascoffee, tea, chocolate, pharmaceutical elements, and the like. Each ofthe filling units 20 and 2| is provided with a closure member forregulating the fiow of the commodity. These closure members are operatedby rods 23 suitably connected with the driving mechanism for fillingeach of the bags with the desired amount of the commodity as the bagspass under the filler units 20 and 2|.

After being filled, the packaging structure passes against a knifeelement 25 which splits the packaging structure into two half portions26 and 27, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The chain of open bagscomprising the half portion 26 then passes through crimping rollers 28and 29 and the chain of open bags comprising the half portion of 21extends through rollers 30 and SI. These rollers are electrically heatedand put crimped edge seal 32 along thetop of the packaging structure toclose the bags or pockets. All of the sealing and crimping operationsare attended by sufiicient heat to fuse the thermoplastic material onthe regenerated cellulose or other packaging material, while thecrimping operation interdigitates opposed layers of packaging materialto lock the same in a secure bond.

Figure 3 represents more clearly the exact details of the completedpackaging chain unit. It will be seen that individual bags are formedbetween the sealingareas l2 and that the top sealing area 32 completelyseals the bags, after the bags have been filled by the commodity 33. Thenotches 34 in the center of the sealing areas I2 permit the individualbags to be separated from the chain unit. When desired, the sealing areaI2 may be provided with a centrally disposed row of perforations 35 toassist in the separation of the individual bag units, one from theother. These perforations may be provided by teeth centrally disposed onthe crimping bars 8a of the roller 8, meshing with complementaryrecesses or resilient section in the roller 9.

Although a preferred arrangement for forming and filling bags has beendisclosed, it will berecognized that various changes and equivalentforms can be made without departing from the intended scope of theinvention. Therefore, no limitations are intended except as pointed outby the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A method of producing a package formation which comprises feeding ina horizontal direction two opposed layers of packaging material that areconnected together along a longitudinal zone throughout their length,sealing together said layers transversely at areas spaced longitudinallythereof to form a chain of contiguous bag pockets having mouths openingbetween said layers at points opposite said longitudinal zone, movingsaid chain of open-mouth bag pockets along a horizontal path with thepockets opening upwardly, depositing a commodity into each of saidpockets, and then sealing together said layers along a secondlongitudinal zone to close the mouths of the pockets.

2. A method of producing a package formation material along spaced,transversely extending zones to seal the said layers together andproduce a continuous chain of contiguous, approxi- 'mately rectangularbag pockets each closed on three sides and with the other sideconstituting an open mouth, moving the chain of open-mouth pockets alonga horizontal path with the pockets opening upwardly, filling the saidpockets with a commodity and subsequently sealing the superposed layerstogether along the longitudinal edges thereof to close the mouths of thepockets.

3. A method of producing a package formation which comprises feeding ina horizontal direction two opposed layers of packaging material that areconnected together along a longitudinal zone throughout their length,sealing together said layers transversely at areas spaced longitudinallythereof to form a chain of contiguous bag pockets having mouths openingbetween said layers at points opposite said longitudinal zone movingsaid chain of open-mouth bag pockets along a horizontal path with thepockets opening upwardly, distending the open mouths of the pockets,depositing a commodity into each of said pockets, and then sealingtogether said layers along a second longitudinal zone to close themouths of the pockets.

4. A method of producing a package formation which comprises foldinginwardly toward each other the longitudinal edge portions of a strip ofpackaging material with their free longitudinal edges in spaced relationto each other, periodically sealing the superposed layers together attransversely extending zones spaced longitudinally of the layers toproduce two adjacent continuous chains of contiguous approximatelyrectangular bag pockets each closed on three sides with the other sideconstituting an open mouth, moving said chains of open-mouth pocketsalong a hori-' zontal path with said pockets opening upwardly, fillingthe said pockets with a commodity and subsequently sealing thesuperposed layers together along said longitudinal edges thereof toclose the mouths of the pockets.

5. A method of producing a package formation which comprises foldinginwardly toward each other the longitudinal edge portions of a strip ,ofpackaging material with their free longitudinal edges spaced from eachother, periodically sealing the superposed layers together attransversely extending zones spaced longitudinally of the layers toproduce two adjacent continuous chains of contiguous approximatelyrectangular bag pockets each closed on three sides with the other sideconstituting an open mouth, folding said strip longitudinally betweensaid chains of pockets to turn said chains into a position with theirpockets opening upwardly, moving said chains of upwardly opening pocketsalong a horizontal path, filling the said pockets with a commodity andsubsequently sealing the superposed layers together along saidlongitudinal edges thereof to close the mouths of the pockets.

6. The method set forth in claim 5 with the additional step of slittingsaid strip along the last-mentioned longitudinal fold to separate saidchains of pockets.

LEROY L. SALFISBE'RG.

